KPLU-FM: texting and drivinghttp://www.npr.org
Assorted stories from KPLU-FMenCopyright 2014 NPR - For Personal Use OnlyNPR API RSS Generator 0.94Tue, 06 Aug 2013 20:41:47 -0400http://media.npr.org/images/stations/logos/kplu_fm.gifKPLU-FM: texting and drivinghttp://www.npr.org
WSP, Police on the Lookout for Cell Phone-Using DriversIf you are a distracted driver, then it’s time to put the phone down. Over the next few weeks, Washington State Patrol and local law enforcement officersTue, 06 Aug 2013 20:41:47 -0400http://www.kplu.org/post/wsp-police-lookout-cell-phone-using-drivers
http://www.kplu.org/post/wsp-police-lookout-cell-phone-using-driversIf you are a distracted driver, then it’s time to put the phone down. Over the next few weeks, Washington State Patrol and local law enforcement officers72noIf you are a distracted driver, then it’s time to put the phone down. Over the next few weeks, Washington State Patrol and local law enforcement officers

]]>Are you reading this while walking? Study reveals risks<p></p><p>Walking is becoming more hazardous, with the spread of smart-phones. And it’s not just because drivers are distracted.</p><p>Pedestrians who are texting or reading messages are four times more likely to do something dangerous than other pedestrians, according to researchers who looked at 20 of Seattle’s busiest intersections.</p><p><!--break--></p><p>Overall, about a quarter of all pedestrians had some sort of technological distraction, such as ear-buds, cell-phones, or text-messaging. But the impact of those technologies varies widely.</p><p>And, by far, the most hazardous activity is typing or tapping at your handheld device.</p><p>“The thing about text messaging is it captures you in, you get engaged,” says Dr. Beth Ebel of Harborview Medical Center’s <a href="http://depts.washington.edu/hiprc/">Injury Prevention program</a>, the senior author of <a href="http://www.ip.bmj.com/lookup/doi/10.1136/injuryprev-2012-040601">the study, published in </a><em><a href="http://www.ip.bmj.com/lookup/doi/10.1136/injuryprev-2012-040601">Injury Prevention</a> (</em>a <em>British Medical Journal </em>publication<em>)</em>.</p><blockquote><p>“The minute you check to see who it is, your brain is elsewhere … and your brain is not engaged in a task like walking in the middle of the street.”</p></blockquote><p>The research team watched the behaviors of 1,102 pedestrians last summer, at different times of day. They recorded the ages, genders and what the pedestrians were doing.</p><p>The good news: 70% were not distracted at all.</p><p><strong>Smartphones encouraging dumb behavior</strong></p><p>Yet, they saw pedestrians looking at their devices step off the curb without once looking up. People texting took longer to cross the street.</p><blockquote><p>“When you cross in front of a vehicle and you are not looking at the drivers eyes, and not looking at the next lane over, you are at serious risk of an injury,” says Ebel.&#160;</p></blockquote><p>Other studies have looked at the effects of texting devices on driving, but this is one of the first to look in detail at pedestrian behavior in real-world situations.</p><p>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTPxZ1n4M-M</p><p><strong>Public education or enforcement needed</strong></p><p>It might be time for a safety campaign, says Ebel, similar to the “buckle-up” seatbelt promotions or the anti-drunk driving efforts.</p><p>She’s coaching her children, and her patients as a pediatrician, to make a conscious choice about where they use their devices.</p><p>“Text. Do what you want, look at your internet,” she says. "But, it’s not okay for you to do that while in your vehicle, and it’s really a poor and risky idea while you're [walking] in an intersection.”</p><p><strong>Top-10 Intersections for pedestrian injuries (from Seattle DOT):</strong></p><ol><li>3rd Ave & Pike St</li><li>5th Ave & Spring St</li><li>Broadway E & E Olive Way</li><li>5th Ave S & S Jackson St</li><li>6th Ave & Pine St&#160;</li><li>Denny Way & Stewart St&#160;</li><li>15th&#160;Ave NW & NW Market St</li><li>23rd Ave & E Jefferson St</li><li>Aurora Ave N & N Northgate Way</li><li>3rd Ave & Lenora St</li></ol>Wed, 12 Dec 2012 18:34:21 -0500http://www.kplu.org/post/are-you-reading-while-walking-study-reveals-risks
http://www.kplu.org/post/are-you-reading-while-walking-study-reveals-risks<p></p><p>Walking is becoming more hazardous, with the spread of smart-phones. And it’s not just because drivers are distracted.</p><p>Pedestrians who are texting or reading messages are four times more likely to do something dangerous than other pedestrians, according to researchers who looked at 20 of Seattle’s busiest intersections.</p><p><!--break--></p><p>Overall, about a quarter of all pedestrians had some sort of technological distraction, such as ear-buds, cell-phones, or text-messaging. But the impact of those technologies varies widely.</p><p>And, by far, the most hazardous activity is typing or tapping at your handheld device.</p><p>“The thing about text messaging is it captures you in, you get engaged,” says Dr. Beth Ebel of Harborview Medical Center’s <a href="http://depts.washington.edu/hiprc/">Injury Prevention program</a>, the senior author of <a href="http://www.ip.bmj.com/lookup/doi/10.1136/injuryprev-2012-040601">the study, published in </a><em><a href="http://www.ip.bmj.com/lookup/doi/10.1136/injuryprev-2012-040601">Injury Prevention</a> (</em>a <em>British Medical Journal </em>publication<em>)</em>.</p><blockquote><p>“The minute you check to see who it is, your brain is elsewhere … and your brain is not engaged in a task like walking in the middle of the street.”</p></blockquote><p>The research team watched the behaviors of 1,102 pedestrians last summer, at different times of day. They recorded the ages, genders and what the pedestrians were doing.</p><p>The good news: 70% were not distracted at all.</p><p><strong>Smartphones encouraging dumb behavior</strong></p><p>Yet, they saw pedestrians looking at their devices step off the curb without once looking up. People texting took longer to cross the street.</p><blockquote><p>“When you cross in front of a vehicle and you are not looking at the drivers eyes, and not looking at the next lane over, you are at serious risk of an injury,” says Ebel.&#160;</p></blockquote><p>Other studies have looked at the effects of texting devices on driving, but this is one of the first to look in detail at pedestrian behavior in real-world situations.</p><p>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTPxZ1n4M-M</p><p><strong>Public education or enforcement needed</strong></p><p>It might be time for a safety campaign, says Ebel, similar to the “buckle-up” seatbelt promotions or the anti-drunk driving efforts.</p><p>She’s coaching her children, and her patients as a pediatrician, to make a conscious choice about where they use their devices.</p><p>“Text. Do what you want, look at your internet,” she says. "But, it’s not okay for you to do that while in your vehicle, and it’s really a poor and risky idea while you're [walking] in an intersection.”</p><p><strong>Top-10 Intersections for pedestrian injuries (from Seattle DOT):</strong></p><ol><li>3rd Ave & Pike St</li><li>5th Ave & Spring St</li><li>Broadway E & E Olive Way</li><li>5th Ave S & S Jackson St</li><li>6th Ave & Pine St&#160;</li><li>Denny Way & Stewart St&#160;</li><li>15th&#160;Ave NW & NW Market St</li><li>23rd Ave & E Jefferson St</li><li>Aurora Ave N & N Northgate Way</li><li>3rd Ave & Lenora St</li></ol>83no

Walking is becoming more hazardous, with the spread of smart-phones. And it’s not just because drivers are distracted.

Pedestrians who are texting or reading messages are four times more likely to do something dangerous than other pedestrians, according to researchers who looked at 20 of Seattle’s busiest intersections.

Overall, about a quarter of all pedestrians had some sort of technological distraction, such as ear-buds, cell-phones, or text-messaging. But the impact of those technologies varies widely.

And, by far, the most hazardous activity is typing or tapping at your handheld device.

“The minute you check to see who it is, your brain is elsewhere … and your brain is not engaged in a task like walking in the middle of the street.”

The research team watched the behaviors of 1,102 pedestrians last summer, at different times of day. They recorded the ages, genders and what the pedestrians were doing.

The good news: 70% were not distracted at all.

Smartphones encouraging dumb behavior

Yet, they saw pedestrians looking at their devices step off the curb without once looking up. People texting took longer to cross the street.

“When you cross in front of a vehicle and you are not looking at the drivers eyes, and not looking at the next lane over, you are at serious risk of an injury,” says Ebel.

Other studies have looked at the effects of texting devices on driving, but this is one of the first to look in detail at pedestrian behavior in real-world situations.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTPxZ1n4M-M

Public education or enforcement needed

It might be time for a safety campaign, says Ebel, similar to the “buckle-up” seatbelt promotions or the anti-drunk driving efforts.

She’s coaching her children, and her patients as a pediatrician, to make a conscious choice about where they use their devices.

“Text. Do what you want, look at your internet,” she says. "But, it’s not okay for you to do that while in your vehicle, and it’s really a poor and risky idea while you're [walking] in an intersection.”

]]>Do you text while you drive? You're not alone.<p></p><p>Have you ever been tempted to respond to a text message while you’re behind the wheel?</p><p>Texting while driving is illegal in Washington state, but the practice is common enough that the state plans to launch a full scale campaign against it along the lines of the “Click it or Ticket” campaign that promotes seat belt use. <!--break--></p><p>Jonna VanDyke, spokeswoman for the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, says even drivers who should know better often feel compelled to respond to a text thinking maybe it’s my boss, or my kid, or think "the person will get mad at me if I don't respond right away."</p><p>VanDyke warns that typing into a phone while you’re driving increases your risk of crashing by 24 times.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;</p><blockquote><p>"You know you think about why that is. You’re taking your eyes off the road. You're taking your mind off your driving or the road ahead of you and you're taking at least one hand off the wheel and, in&#160; some cases, two hands off the wheel,"&#160; VanDyke said.</p></blockquote><p>The state, which has applied for and is likely to get federal transportation dollars to pay for an anti-texting campaign, plans to use the same “click it or ticket” kind of messages used in those buckle-up ads.&#160;</p><p>In other&#160; words, if you text while driving you could get a ticket.</p><p>One problem Washington has is that the fine for texting and driving remains at $124 whether it’s your first or one-hundredth offense.</p><p><strong>Growing interest in keeping drivers from texting</strong></p><p>The state anti-texting campaign comes on the heels of other efforts, including a video campaign launched in Seattle by Verizon Wireless and the Seattle Seahawks. It features quarterback Russell Wilson.</p><p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=y-d-Yf7TD08#">http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=y-d-Yf7TD08#</a></p><p>Distracted driving seems to be worse when people have smart phones rather than basic cell phones. <a href="http://www.geekwire.com/2012/omg-study-finds-phone-driving/">As reported in GeekWire </a>today, once you get a smart phone, the chance you'll do something unsafe behind the wheel goes up dramatically.</p><p></p><p></p>Mon, 10 Dec 2012 19:35:24 -0500http://www.kplu.org/post/do-you-text-while-you-drive-youre-not-alone
http://www.kplu.org/post/do-you-text-while-you-drive-youre-not-alone<p></p><p>Have you ever been tempted to respond to a text message while you’re behind the wheel?</p><p>Texting while driving is illegal in Washington state, but the practice is common enough that the state plans to launch a full scale campaign against it along the lines of the “Click it or Ticket” campaign that promotes seat belt use. <!--break--></p><p>Jonna VanDyke, spokeswoman for the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, says even drivers who should know better often feel compelled to respond to a text thinking maybe it’s my boss, or my kid, or think "the person will get mad at me if I don't respond right away."</p><p>VanDyke warns that typing into a phone while you’re driving increases your risk of crashing by 24 times.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;</p><blockquote><p>"You know you think about why that is. You’re taking your eyes off the road. You're taking your mind off your driving or the road ahead of you and you're taking at least one hand off the wheel and, in&#160; some cases, two hands off the wheel,"&#160; VanDyke said.</p></blockquote><p>The state, which has applied for and is likely to get federal transportation dollars to pay for an anti-texting campaign, plans to use the same “click it or ticket” kind of messages used in those buckle-up ads.&#160;</p><p>In other&#160; words, if you text while driving you could get a ticket.</p><p>One problem Washington has is that the fine for texting and driving remains at $124 whether it’s your first or one-hundredth offense.</p><p><strong>Growing interest in keeping drivers from texting</strong></p><p>The state anti-texting campaign comes on the heels of other efforts, including a video campaign launched in Seattle by Verizon Wireless and the Seattle Seahawks. It features quarterback Russell Wilson.</p><p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=y-d-Yf7TD08#">http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=y-d-Yf7TD08#</a></p><p>Distracted driving seems to be worse when people have smart phones rather than basic cell phones. <a href="http://www.geekwire.com/2012/omg-study-finds-phone-driving/">As reported in GeekWire </a>today, once you get a smart phone, the chance you'll do something unsafe behind the wheel goes up dramatically.</p><p></p><p></p>79no

Have you ever been tempted to respond to a text message while you’re behind the wheel?

Texting while driving is illegal in Washington state, but the practice is common enough that the state plans to launch a full scale campaign against it along the lines of the “Click it or Ticket” campaign that promotes seat belt use.

Jonna VanDyke, spokeswoman for the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, says even drivers who should know better often feel compelled to respond to a text thinking maybe it’s my boss, or my kid, or think "the person will get mad at me if I don't respond right away."

VanDyke warns that typing into a phone while you’re driving increases your risk of crashing by 24 times.

"You know you think about why that is. You’re taking your eyes off the road. You're taking your mind off your driving or the road ahead of you and you're taking at least one hand off the wheel and, in some cases, two hands off the wheel," VanDyke said.

The state, which has applied for and is likely to get federal transportation dollars to pay for an anti-texting campaign, plans to use the same “click it or ticket” kind of messages used in those buckle-up ads.

In other words, if you text while driving you could get a ticket.

One problem Washington has is that the fine for texting and driving remains at $124 whether it’s your first or one-hundredth offense.

Growing interest in keeping drivers from texting

The state anti-texting campaign comes on the heels of other efforts, including a video campaign launched in Seattle by Verizon Wireless and the Seattle Seahawks. It features quarterback Russell Wilson.

Distracted driving seems to be worse when people have smart phones rather than basic cell phones. As reported in GeekWire today, once you get a smart phone, the chance you'll do something unsafe behind the wheel goes up dramatically.